Why Meghan Markle might have to wait longer to have a baby with husband Prince Harry

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been open about their desire to start a family but with no announcement yet, the couple might have to wait even longer because of their upcoming royal engagements.

Meghan and Harry tied the knot in May and people have been speculating ever since that they would have a baby on the way by the end of the year.

In the couple’s engagement interview with the BBC, Harry admitted that having children was certainly on the cards in the near future and people close to the royal family have said that Harry would want to have children ‘as quickly as possible’.

Despite both Harry and Meghan looking like naturals whenever they are with children and hinting at how many children they would like to have, they are still yet to announce any baby news and now it’s looking as though we won’t have any until at least next year.

This is because the couple are set to jet off to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands of Fiji and Tongo for their first official tour together.

Fiji and Tongo have both had outbreaks of the Zika virus which is very harmful for pregnant women. It is mainly spread by mosquitoes and some people will only experience a mild infection.

Further details about The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Autumn Tour to Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand have been released 🇦🇺🇫🇯🇹🇴🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/b3XD4GaVnh

However, pregnant women can experience serious health problems and their unborn baby can suffer complications too. Many children are born with small heads, a condition called microcephaly, if their mother was infected with the virus during pregnancy.

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Women are encouraged to avoid travelling to high risk areas if they are pregnant. Thus, the royal family are unlikely to make Meghan and Harry travel to a location with the risk of Zika virus if they were expecting a baby.

Women wanting to conceive are also advised to avoid getting pregnant while travelling to an area with high or moderate risk of Zika virus transmission, and for eight weeks after you return home, according to the NHS.

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Since the royal tour was announced, bookies have slashed the odds on the couple’s baby being born next year. Coral have placed their odds at 1/4 while Skybet have odds of 1/3.

So for now we’ll just have to hold out for some more updates on Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George – and of course Pippa Middleton’s baby which is due very soon…